Donald Trump tells supporters to ‘just vote’ at lively Georgia rally hosted by Charlie Kirk

But as the election race with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris enters its final days, allies like Kirk are looking for people who lean toward Trump but can still stay out of the election when it comes to voting.

“You have to go to every person you meet and say, ‘Are you voting for Trump?'” Kirk told the crowd Wednesday before Trump took the stage.

Kirk, 31, is playing an outsized role in this year’s election, using his online presence and the organization he founded, Turning Point Action, to become one of the country’s most recognizable conservatives and a central part of Trump’s operation. The former president has placed a particular emphasis on wooing younger men, the “brother vote,” trying to reach them through podcasts, social media and influencers like Kirk.

The rally at Duluth’s Gas South Arena was filled with pyrotechnics and interspersed with meme-laden videos. At one point, it also featured three figures who represent the new coalition Trump is trying to assemble: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ran his own presidential campaign this year before endorsing Trump; ex-deputy Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat who announced this week that she is joining the Republican Party; and Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News commentator who has attracted millions of followers with his bold social media presence.

Carlson cast Trump as America’s “father” and said a Trump victory over Harris would mean, “Daddy’s home! And he’s pissed!”

Later in the night, as Trump spoke, some in the crowd shouted, “Daddy’s home!”

Wednesday’s rally was strategically placed in a part of the Atlanta metro area where Trump underperformed four years ago in his re-election campaign, losing to Democrat Joe Biden. Kirk and Trump are also scheduled to appear at a rally Thursday evening in Las Vegas.

Trump praised Kirk for “working so hard” at the rally and other campaign efforts.

In turn, Kirk described the choice as a Christian “spiritual battle” between good and evil. Trump’s rise and continued place in American politics is the work of a “divine” author, he said, as he pressed Georgia pastors to speak out on Trump’s behalf.

Early in the evening, the crowd broke into a chant not usually heard at the former president’s rallies: “Christ is King! Christ is King! Christ is King!”

Trump also responded Wednesday at a faith-focused town hall held at a church in Zebulon, about 50 miles south of Atlanta. He told the crowd that Christians are not voting in large numbers, but people are excited this year.

“When you have faith, when you believe in God, it’s a huge advantage over people who don’t,” he said.

At the end of what was billed as a “Believers and Ballots” event, Trump moved outside to address an overflow crowd. Several hundred people gathered in the church parking lot, chanting “USA!”

Harris, for his part, participated in a town hall in Philadelphia that was televised by CNN. He said Trump is proving to be “increasingly unstable and unfit for office.”

Kirk’s Turning Point features state and local Republican officials on a get-out-the-vote operation in Arizona, Wisconsin and elsewhere. Critics question the group’s claims and its use of an app that has minimal safeguards to protect voters’ personal information. In a recording of a meeting obtained by The Associated Press, an agent for the group declared: “We are now an official arm of the Trump campaign.”

Earlier this week, Kirk and Vivek Ramaswamy took the stage in downtown Atlanta, a decidedly liberal environment for conservatives to hold court with college students. The event was part of Kirk’s “You’re Being Brainwashed” tour, which stops at college campuses in swing states. More than the field work, the “Brainwashed” tour has become perhaps his most visible presence in the last months of the campaign.

Within minutes, Ramaswamy, the biotech entrepreneur seeking the Republican presidential nomination this year, and Kirk were sparring with Georgia State University undergraduates about their picks in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Trump and his aides argue that his populist nationalism appeals to younger voters frustrated by an inflationary economy and rising housing prices.

“I’m definitely voting for Trump because he reflects my values ​​as a conservative and as a Christian more than Ms. Harris,” said Jean Pierre, 25. He credited figures like Kirk and Candace Owens for “helping me recognize that I had always been a conservative.”

However, Pierre seemed greatly outnumbered in the crowd by the students who were there to cheer the host on or simply watch the combative exchanges.

Jason Evans and Tyler Hill showed up dressed as “White Dudes for Harris.”

Hill said, “I’m just here for the show.”

Kirk delved into misleading claims and conspiracy theories.

He repeated Trump’s misrepresentation that Harris has been singularly responsible for immigration policy. He amplified the falsehood that 325,000 children have been “lost” at the border during Biden’s tenure.

Kirk also defended Trump supporters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as Congress met to certify Biden’s election.

Ashli ​​Babbitt, who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer inside the building, was unarmed, Kirk said. He rhetorically asked whether the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer in 2020, was acceptable. This led to jeers and more than a few expletives.

Kirk, who is white, went on to say, “Black people in America are last, which seems to be a theme for the last 60 years when the Democrats are in charge.”

The crowd, which reflected the racial and ethnic diversity of Georgia State’s enrollment, was largely unresponsive. Turning Point staff and local conservatives applauded.

Associated Press writer Stephen Groves in Washington contributed reporting.